Prospects for a Multi-TeV Gamma-ray Sky Survey with the LHAASO Water Cherenkov Detector Array

The Water Cherenkov Detector Array (WCDA) is a major component of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Array Observatory (LHAASO), a new generation cosmic-ray experiment with unprecedented sensitivity, currently under construction. The WCDA is aimed at the study of TeV \begin{document}$\gamma$\end{document} -rays. In order to evaluate the prospects of searching for TeV \begin{document}$\gamma$\end{document} -ray sources with the WCDA, we present in this paper a projection for the one-year sensitivity of the WCDA to TeV \begin{document}$\gamma$\end{document} -ray sources from TeVCat 1) using an all-sky approach. Out of 128 TeVCat sources observable to the WCDA up to a zenith angle of \begin{document}$45^\circ$\end{document} , we estimate that 42 would be detectable for one year of observations at a median energy of 1 TeV. Most of them are Galactic sources, and the extragalactic sources are Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN).